An American Discovery

It’s the 4th of July and Independence Day is a good time to reflect on our many blessings and privileges. As a chiropractor this is particularly meaningful to me because the United States of America was the birthplace of the chiropractic profession. It began as an important discovery taking place in Davenport, Iowa, when Harvey Lillard, a deaf man, regained his hearing after having a precise spinal adjustment. Chiropractic is gradually becoming recognized for what it brings to people’s lives and it is at the forefront of an imminent transformation in how we view life and health.
This stands in sharp contrast to the fierce opposition and attacks chiropractors faced in the early 1900’s by entrenched medical power brokers. Chiropractic was discovered at a time when the medical arts were undergoing severe criticism for practices based on superstitious and outdated ideas. The practice of medicine had not yet advanced beyond bloodletting, itinerant salesmen with snake oils and toxic patent medicines. It was difficult for the public to tell the charlatans and swindlers from the sincere physicians. Medical associations found it useful to deflect attention away from their own shortcomings by attacking outsiders, especially chiropractors who were helping many people who failed to get well under medical care. As a competitive science, chiropractors found themselves an easy target for the long established, but troubled medical profession.
Under pressure from medical groups, thousands of chiropractors were arrested and served jail time. What was their crime? They were guilty of helping people when medicine was claiming a monopoly over the business of health care. The political oppression nearly wiped out the fledgling chiropractic profession. Patients picketed jails demanding that their doctors be released and gradually states enacted chiropractic practice acts. This colorful history included many fascinating stories of personal tragedy and triumph. For the story of one chiropractor, Dr. Herbert Ross Reaver, who was arrested 12 times, click on this link: http://theatlasoflife.com/2010/03/30/going-to-jail-for-the-principle-dr-herbert-ross-reaver/
Like the country that gave it birth, chiropractors and patients had to fight for their right to freedom and the pursuit of a better life.